Rome
by notenoughlove
Summary: Elizabeth gets a chance to study in Rome. Jason has never been in the mob. He graduated from the university and wants to move to Italy to start his own vineyard. Emily and Johnny will be there to help with the move and maybe more later.
1. Chapter 1

Elizabeth was sitting in the park thinking about what she was going to do next. She had a chance of living her dream in Rome or she could be the good daughter and grand-daughter and stay in Port Charles. She had accomplished her goals and won a scholarship to Rome for the next four years. Her scholarship covered all of her classes and living expenses. She didn't have to get another job to help pay her bills. She was excited but also sad about leaving her friends and family. She just knew that if she didn't go then she would always wonder, "what if". That is something that she decided she couldn't do to herself. She knew that she would have to tell her family and soon. Her new life was to start in two weeks. She needed time to pack and find the lay of the land before she started classes in Rome.

She left the park and walked over to General Hospital to tell her grandmother the news. She actually knew about for a couple of weeks and only told her best friend, Emily that she was accepted. Emily was happy for her but was sad that she was leaving for Italy. She walked to the nurse's station and saw her grandmother at work. "Grandmother, I have some exciting news for you. I have been accepted at the John Cabot U in Rome. I have a scholarship for their bachelor's program in Art. It is a very prestigious university in Rome. I have been wanting to go there since I started painting in high school. There are only a handful of students in the US that are accepted." Elizabeth talked so fast that her grandmother didn't know what to say.

"Have you called your parents yet? I am sure that they will want you to stay here with me and go to Port Charles University and then to Med School like everyone else did. I am not sure if I am happy about this or not." Her grandmother smiled at her knowing that her grand-daughter had already made up her mind.

"I am not sure if I will call them now or after I get to Rome. I made up my mind and this is something that I need to do for me. I have never really done anything except for what is expected of me. I am an adult and know that medicine is something that the family does but it is not for me. I love painting and all the different areas of art. It is as much a part of me as medicine is to all of you. Please tell me that you are proud of me and that I have your blessing. I love and respect you and this means the world to me." Elizabeth, sat down and was about to cry when her grandmother came over and hugged her. "I will tell your parents for you. I have always been proud of you and your paintings are beautiful. I know you will do well over there. I will miss you though. You better write to me. Don't tell anyone but you are my favorite granddaughter." Audrey hugged Elizabeth and went back to work.

Elizabeth then went over to see Emily. She had to tell her that she made her decision to go to Rome and that she was leaving in a week. "Emily, are you ready? Elizabeth is downstairs waiting for you." "I am Alice. Tell her I will be down in a few minutes." That is when she saw him. He was coming down the stairs looking like he was ready to take on the world. He had a way about him that made her melt. She knew that she wasn't his type because she was his little sister's best friend. Too young and definitely not wild enough for Jason Morgan.

He looked right at her and smiled. "Hi Elizabeth! Emily will be right down. She told me about your exciting news. Congratulations on your acceptance at John Cabot. The boys over there in Rome will be falling all over themselves when they see how beautiful you are. Take care." Jason then walked out of the door. He never knew that she had been daydreaming about him since she was a freshman and he was a senior. Emily, came down the stairs and saw Elizabeth staring at the door that Jason just walked out of. "Come on, Liz. It will be okay. There will be plenty of men chasing you once you hit Rome. You know they love us American women over there. Did you tell your family? I asked my mother if I could go help you move to Rome and she said I could. Do you still want me to go?" Elizabeth hugged her best friend and started to cry.

"What did I do now? I thought you would be happy that I could go. Am I missing something?" "No, I am happy that you can go. I told my grandmother but not the rest of the family. Grandmother said she would take care of it. I am surprised that she is letting you go alone. I mean you will have to fly back alone."

"Mother, took care of that. She asked Jason if he would fly with us over there and make sure that you get settled over there. We actually have a nice townhouse that is never used in Rome and my parents said that you are welcome to stay there just pay the utilities. I know that you are on scholarship but this will be one expense that is taken care of and you would be doing my parents a big favor. They hate having the place closed up all the time. We only get over there a couple of times a year. In the winter it gets really cold, so having you there we know that the pipes won't freeze. At least I think it gets cold in the winter. I don't really pay much attention to all the properties the family has except that one in the islands. Remember last year, we had a blast there." Emily looked at Elizabeth who was in shock now. "Are you sure that your parents don't mind me staying there? That is something that I never expected or could have hoped for." Emily took Elizabeth into the living room where her parents were talking about their day.

"Mom, Elizabeth is not sure about staying at our townhouse. She thinks it is too much and doesn't want to put anyone out" "Elizabeth, you are like a daughter to Alan and myself. I have seen your talent and I know that you will accomplish a lot in your studies abroad. We want to do something special for you because we believe in your talent and also to know that someone is enjoying our place over there. We never get to use it and I know that you will take good care of it. You might have some company over there because Jason is thinking of taking a couple of months off to see Europe. He plans on traveling and deciding whether he wants to go into business with the family or start his own vineyard. He is finally finished with his studies here and his dream in building a villa and starting his own winery. His father and I just want him to be happy. That is one of the reasons why I am letting Emily go because he promised to make sure that the two of you were safe. Also that you are situated in the townhouse and ready for your classes. I did tell Audrey about this after she called telling me your good news. I know she will feel better knowing that you have a safe place to stay. So, can you help us out? We really would appreciate you helping us out." Alan and Monica hugged Elizabeth. "I am so grateful. Thank you for all that you are doing for me. I am not sure if I could ever repay you." Alan looked at Elizabeth and smiled. "I know that you will do wonders there. If you would like to do some decorating then just send us the bills and we will take care of it. I know that it needs some TLC and I have seen some of your decorating work. Namely, Emily's bedroom. That room is a masterpiece." Emily and Elizabeth hugged Alan and Monica and headed to Kelly's for some dinner.

"Did I just dream that or are we both about to go to Rome? This dream of mine is really coming true. I have sent an e-mail telling them that I have accepted the scholarship and that my classes start in two weeks. I figure a couple of days here for us to pack and then a week or so to get ready for school. I just wish you were going to school with me. I will miss you Em." Emily smiled at her best friend and before they knew it, they were at Kelly's.

They got their usual table and placed their orders. Just then Jason walked in with one of his friends from the university. Emily and Elizabeth just stared at them while they got the table next to them. Jason introduced his friend, Johnny O'Brien. "Ladies, this is my best friend, Johnny. Johnny this is my sister, Emily and her best friend, Elizabeth. These are the two young ladies that are going to Rome with us. Johnny is going to help me find my vineyard over in Florence. I am hoping to find a nice piece of property there and take a couple of classes about growing grapes and starting my own business there. I have always loved Italy. I saw the two of you come in here so I wanted you to meet Johnny before I sneak him on board with us Friday. I hope you two don't mind."

"Elizabeth, do you think we should tell my mom or should we just blackmail them for the rest of their lives? I think blackmail is the best way to go." Johnny laughed and then asked her for her number. "I believe that blackmail is a great way to get us to do whatever you want us to do. I give great back massages if you ever need one of them. I just need a ride back with you Emily since the stud here is staying in Italy. If you don't mind?"

Elizabeth told the guys not to worry that they wouldn't say anything and to Johnny that Emily would love to fly back with him. "I think that you totally floored Emily since this is the first time I can remember her speechless in quite some time. Sit down, Em. We will leave the guys alone in peace while we eat our food before it gets too cold. Nice meeting you, Johnny. I am glad that both you and Jason are coming with us."

Jason and Johnny looked at the younger girls and smiled. Jason knew what Johnny wanted to do with his sister and he was going to make sure that it never happened. The two of them grabbed their meals and took off for parts unknown. Emily and Elizabeth finished their meal and decided that they needed to start thinking about what they were going to pack for their trip to Rome. One good thing about the Quartermaine's letting Elizabeth stay at their townhouse was that she knew where to ship her belongings off too. She was going to be there for the next few years and she needed to take a lot of her personal belongings there. Her grandmother and Monica had brought over some boxes already to help with the packing. Emily was only going to be there for a few days since she started at the University the same week that Elizabeth was starting school.


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple of days flew by without Elizabeth being able to breathe. She decided that she liked that feeling and hoped that living in Rome would give her that breathless feeling. She was leaving the next day and went to say good-bye to her Grams. She loved her grandmother and knew that she was going to miss her terribly. She was spending the last night in Port Charles for a while at the Quartermaine estate. The plane was going to be ready for them whenever they were ready. That is one good thing about having a best friend who has the right to fly on the family jet. Johnny also planned on staying there so only one car was needed to take them to their private airfield. The flight was going to be a long one since they were flying across the Atlantic to Rome. She had never been to Rome, so everything was going to be a new experience to her.

She made her way to General Hospital since her grandmother was still at work. Emily was with her and went off to see her parents while Elizabeth made her way to the main nurses' station where her grandmother worked at. "Hi Grams! I am all packed and ready to leave for Rome tomorrow. Thanks for everything that you have done for me and also for smoothing things over with my parents. They said that they planned on being in Italy in a couple of months and would check out the university and the townhouse. They want to make sure that I am safe and that I know my way around by then. I also hope to know more Italian, just in case I meet someone who doesn't speak any English. I hope that you can come over to see me or that I get a chance to come home for either Thanksgiving or Christmas." Her grandmother always marveled at how she could talk so much and not pass out.

"I will miss you my dear, but I know that you will make a wonderful artist and that Rome is the best place to learn. Monica has told me all about the town house and even showed me pictures. I do believe that they might need your expertise to decorate it. It is a bit on the plain side. You have a wonderful talent and a great eye for what looks good and doesn't. I do believe that it was one of the main reasons that they were grateful for you going to Rome and staying there. I also heard that their son, Jason will be hanging around for a while checking out the vineyards and property over there. You take care and call me when you get settled in. I am very proud of you." Elizabeth hugged her Grams good-bye and went over to meet with Emily. They met in the cafeteria and decided they needed to go to Kelly's one more time before going to Rome.

Elizabeth and Emily walked into Kelly's and sat down at their regular table. Elizabeth decided that she had to get her favorites because it would be a while before she would be able to eat there. Their waitress came over to get their orders. "I will be leaving tomorrow so I need to get all of my favorites. I will have my usual and a chocolate shake. I may get dessert too but I am not sure. What kind of desserts do you have? I may take them for the flight tomorrow. Emily and I are going with her brother and his friend, Johnny. They might need some snacks too." The waitress told her about the muffins, cupcakes, brownies and pies that they had made.

"I think that I will have the same as Elizabeth. I will be back in a week but I am hungry. Jason likes the muffins and apple pie. I am not sure about Johnny. I think that he is more of a brownie and cupcake person. I guess we will need to get an assortment of all of them. You can never get too many desserts." When Emily and Elizabeth finished giving their order, the waitress just laughed and walked away. Just then Emily's parents walked in with Grams. Elizabeth was so happy that they found them and pulled over another table so there was enough room for everyone.

"I wanted to give you some money, Elizabeth just in case you need it. I thought about it and opened up a checking account for you and have gotten you a credit card for emergencies. I want you to know that this is a big move and one thing that I don't want you to worry about is not having enough money. You can spend it or save it for when you get back here. It is up to you." She gave her grand-daughter a hug all the information that Elizabeth needed to start her new checking account in Rome. They all sat down and while the girls were eating, Alan, Monica and Audrey told them stories about what it was like for them in college. A couple of the stories made the girls laugh but one or two of them made them blush. Alan got a big kick out of the desserts that the girls were taking for their flight to Rome.

"You do know that there are desserts and sweets there in Rome. I have been there and some of your favorites happen to come from Italy." He hugged his daughter and Elizabeth. They both laughed and blamed getting the snacks to keep the boys quiet on the flight.

"You do know that the way to a man's heart is through their stomach. I may not have gotten Alan that way but I know quite a few women that have gotten there men that way. I got Alan with my prowess of the scalpel. I told him that he didn't go out with me that I could get him with my little scalpel. We have been together ever since. I guess we better be headed out. You two need to get a move on too. I think that the guys want to leave early tomorrow morning." Monica and Audrey hugged the girls and walked out of the restaurant. Alan hugged both Emily and Elizabeth and paid for their food. "I will see the two of you shortly. Tomorrow will be a long day."

"Did that just happen? I think that I may be dreaming. Everything that I have wanted is coming true and tomorrow we will be going to Rome. We need to get going." Elizabeth and Emily walked out of Kelly's when they saw Jason. He was with his friend, Carly. She was not too happy with him when she realized that he was leaving the next day for Rome. "Why are you going now? I thought that we had something special going on. You never even asked me if I wanted to go or not. I might still let you ask if you are nice to me." Jason just looked at his sister and sighed.

"Carly, you know that we aren't a couple. You are just someone that I have fun with and like to hang out with when I am bored. I am taking my sister, Emily to Rome because she is helping her friend, Elizabeth move there. Elizabeth is staying at our townhouse while she goes to the university in Rome. I will be staying at the townhouse while I am looking for some property for my vineyard. I have already explained this and told you that we are not a couple. We are just friends. I am sorry you two. Where are my manners? Emily, you already know Carly. Elizabeth, this is my friend, Carly. Carly, this is Elizabeth. She is Emily's friend and she is helping take care of the townhouse while she is going to school. I will see you two just as soon as I bring her home and get Johnny."

Elizabeth could see that Carly was not a big fan of hers. She didn't care because she was leaving Port Charles and would probably never see Carly again. Emily took Elizabeth's hand and brought her home. They made it to Emily's room before the two of them started laughing. It was so hard to keep a straight face when Carly was trying to get a free trip with Jason. Elizabeth wasn't sure if she was ready for living alone in Rome or more importantly living with Jason in Rome. She had a major crush on him and being that close for that long was going to be hard for her nerves. She wanted him so much but he only saw her as Emily's friend. He didn't see her for the young beauty that she was or did he.

They talked for a little while longer and fell fast asleep. Elizabeth dreamed of living in Rome and Jason falling in love with her. She woke up when Jason and Johnny ran into the room yelling it's time to get up. "Come on girls, time to go. Our destiny awaits." Johnny laughed at his friend's wake-up call for his sister and her friend. The four of them got ready to head out to the airfield and the trip of their lifetime. They said good-bye to Alan, Monica, Lila and Edward. They made it to the plane and got on board. Emily got into her seat next to Johnny while Elizabeth sat next to Jason. "I thought this might be better in case we got afraid. I need someone strong to hold onto and Elizabeth well she isn't that strong."

"Thanks for the compliment my friend. Sorry about little match maker over there. I think that she either has a crush on Johnny or thinks that I have a crush on you. If you want me to move I will." Jason looked at Emily and then back at Elizabeth. "This is fine. You can go back to sleep if you want to or I can show you pictures of the townhouse and the area around it. You will need to get to know where everything is and I have it all mapped out for you. We might as well get comfortable with each other now since we are going to be spending a lot of time together."

"I would love to look at those pictures you have. I hope you don't mind if I decorate when you are there. Your parents have been very kind to let me stay there rent free but they told me that I can decorate however I want and just send them the bills. I hope everyone will like what I do. I just don't want to disappoint them."

The flight was over before Jason was able to show Elizabeth all the pictures that he had of the townhouse and surrounding areas. "I never knew that you liked to photograph so much. I love all the little details that you picked up on when you took them. Who taught you how to take photos like that?" "I picked it up on my own. I am not sure exactly what I want to do but living in Italy has always been my dream. I think the winery and vineyard is a start but building and restoring things is something else that I would love to do. I hope you don't mind that I help with your remodeling of the townhouse. I have some designs that I have thought about that you might like for the town house." This was something new that no one knew about Jason. Johnny and Emily were just as shocked about Jason's plans as Elizabeth was herself. The plane landed and a limo was ready to take the four of them to the townhouse. Emily was tired of the long trip and couldn't wait till she got into the tub to soak. Jason and Johnny dropped off their bags and headed into the city. Elizabeth just looked in wonder at all the beauty that was there in Rome. She called her grandmother and then the Quartermaines' to tell them that they had landed and were at the townhouse. She then went to see her room and started her unpacking. She realized that her bedroom was just down the hall from Jason.


End file.
